Design Process

How do we get started?

Do you seek the perfect kitchen or bath for your home, your family and you? Have you talked with other kitchen and bath designers and visited other kitchen and bath sources, yet are left with the feeling that there must be a better design direction and solution.

Whether your need is creative design and or quality cabinetry, we can help. Design is more than setting cabinet boxes in and around the room — it’s a very deliberate and thought out process. Let’s review our process.

Suggestion: Depending on your project scope, you can create an “Idea Book” on HOUZZ or your very own “Pins” on Pinterest. These two websites are an alternative to collecting magazines and clipping photos. You can share your Idea Book or Pins with us so we can better understand what inspires you. When perusing these sites, see a design that catches your fancy — Pin it or Save it. Spice storage ideas, maybe a new way to store dishes, whatever — Pin it or Save it. I think you get the idea! It is very simple, yet provides a wealth of knowledge for your kitchen designer, which will ultimately help reduce return trips to the drafting board for design revisions.”

Step One: Let’s Meet

Call or email us to schedule an in-home or in-studio appointment at (215) 794-5930. During this appointment, we’ll want to hear about your desires regarding cabinetry, counters, appliances, fixtures, flooring, electric, plumbing, and other elements associated with your kitchen or bath project. This dialogue will help us in developing a design concept and determining a project budget. During the in-home appointment, we’ll take measurements of the space you want to re-design and remodel.

It would be very helpful if you could complete our questionnaire and have available for that first meeting. If you need assistance completing the questionnaire, please call us at (215) 794-5930 … and we’ll be happy to walk through it with you.

Step Two: Design Concept & Budget Presentation

Your conceptual design plans will be presented here at our Bucks County (Furlong) design studio and shop. Your views and feedback will be very important at this meeting. During this meeting we’ll continue discussion about budget, providing an outline reflecting a suggested budget range for the various elements for your new kitchen or bath.

At this phase of our process, you’ll hopefully have a pretty good idea of both our proposed design recommendations and capabilities for your kitchen or bath, you’ll have a better understanding of the cabinetry and other components suggested for your home, together with an idea of a proposed budget. To proceed further with the actual design and planning process, a design commitment will need to be made at this time (see Design Agreement below).

Step Three: Final Plans and Pricing

When all the design requirements have been satisfied and your selections made, your designer will present you with the final design plan together with a typewritten proposal, which includes an itemized cabinetry and materials listing. All final cabinet and appliance selections should have been approved by this time. Counter surface material (type) selections will be determined, while the actual final selections may be deferred.

Step Four: Ordering

To proceed with ordering your new semi or custom cabinetry, a deposit representing fifty-percent (50%) of the cabinet costs (less any approved credits) will be required to proceed at this time. No orders will be processed without receiving signatures on the design plan, elevations and the selections acknowledgement, to include confirmation of appliance and sink equipment selections.

Once you’ve authorized and deposited with us for your new kitchen or bath cabinet order, we’ll submit all the specifications to the cabinet manufacturer chosen where within a few short weeks we will receive the production acknowledgement with complete materials listing and tentative delivery dates. There can be no changes or alterations to your order at this time without considerable financial penalties.

Step Five: Cabinet Delivery

Once the manufacturer has given us a proposed delivery window, we will contact you and advise you of the proposed schedule. Please make your room ready by removing all the loose contents. Please refer to ‘My Kitchen Checklist’ for some helpful information prior to your cabinetry delivery. If a deferral of your new cabinetry is needed due to construction delays (on your end), please contact us immediately. While we may be able to provide ‘short-term’ storage without charge, your balance due for your new cabinetry will need to be satisfied.

Components of the Process

How does it work?

Introduction

Our initial in-home meeting (Step One) is provided without charge to clients with homes within a 30: minute travel distance from our Bucks County based design studio. Homes beyond one hour shall be reviewed on an individual basis. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss design, budget, and project feasibility … and of course, site measure.

Design Agreement

The Design Agreement Investment (Step Two) is based on a square footage cost of $7.00 per square foot. While our measuring generally includes the breakfast room and areas that affect the overall kitchen design, the total square footage used in our calculation may vary. The Design Agreement Investment is due ‘in-full’ at the time of engagement. Our Design Agreement minimum, regardless of the room size, is $750.00. The Design Agreement will also include how many hours are included. We’re often asked if, during the presentation phase, will our plans look like, or do we offer, the very detailed 3D modeling similar to that seen on some well-known HGTV remodeling shows. While the short answer is no, they are available for an added cost given the extensive investment of time necessary to provide that level of

Design plans, together with all sketches, as “intellectual property”, shall remain the property of Hankins & Associates, Inc. Your design agreement provides you a one-time right to use the plans for the purpose of your kitchen or bath remodel. They may not be reproduced or executed without the written consent of Hankins & Associates, Inc.

Our design agreement includes comprehensive and detailed evaluation of your home, your needs and desires; schematic design plans with detailed elevations in 1/2-inch scale; molding and special details in large scale views. Includes assistance in selecting all cabinet materials and finishes; appliance and sink equipment suggestions and review. You’ll receive accessibility to design and support staff.

An optional electrical and lighting plan is available for an additional fee of $200.00. Electrical plans include lighting and electrical duplex locations, appliance locations and specifications (compilation of appliance specifications), and an electrical legend.

We are often asked if we provide ‘design-only’ services. The answer is yes! Please contact our office for more information. Fees vary based on type and size of project, location and what involvement the client wants us to undertake. Our ability is also hinged on the work already in the queue. Please contact us for more information. Design Agreements or Consultation Engagements outside the scope of our per-square-foot fee are based on the CKD (Certified Kitchen Designer) rate of $95.00 per hour.

Hankins & Associates, Inc. invests an enormous amount of time and resources into each and every design engagement. Design Fees are simply used to help offset part of the time we invest until such time when the Client is ready to move forward. The use and practice of design fees allow us the opportunity to invest more quality time with our clientele in advance of a commitment and contract.

Estimating

While we do not charge for “estimating”, understand that an estimate is an approximate judgment or calculation of value — it’s not a“proposal”. Cabinet proposals unlike estimates require a design plan, elevations and definitive specifications to work from. If you possess the design plans necessary to quote from, you can contact our studio to arrange a time to meet and review your plans here in our Bucks County design studio and shop.

Determining a budget for your new kitchen may seem like be a confusing task. What should you expect to invest? Please use the chart below to help determine a basic budget and suggested allocation of funds to the specific phases of a kitchen remodel. A good ‘rule of thumb’ is budgeting between 10% to 20% of your homes market value towards your kitchen-remodeling project. The examples below are based on 15% of a home with a market value of $350,000.00 and 15% of a home with a market value of $600,000.00. Please remember that this is only a guide and all figures are subject to the size of the kitchen, quality level and custom ability that you desire.

Installation

While Hankins & Associates, Inc. does not directly provide any installation services, we can help you navigate the process. How we work will be discussed during the first meeting. Should you have any questions beforehand, please contact our office. We also offer a trade resource list available at our preferred contractors/vendors page.

Architects and Builders

Dear Allied Professional:

If you’ve been thinking about forging new relationship with a kitchen & bath designer or provider of quality cabinetry, please read on…

We’re a service-added firm providing, we believe, more than most kitchen & bath sources. We offer detailed architectural quality CAD drawings, exportable in “dxf” and “dwg” formats so that they may be incorporated into your architectural or engineering plans.

We’re sensitive to architectural design and creative vision — we don’t indiscriminately fill a room with cabinetry or details that are improperly executed or not consistent with the architecture, style or direction of the client, architect or interior designer. As with all projects, we listen, we absorb — we learn about our client and their project … their vision.

We may also provide installation packets that include complete plan view, elevation and molding details, with technical specifications for all of the appliances and sink equipment — an invaluable service not everyone provides.

We can meet with builders on site to precisely layout the kitchen for their plumber, electrician and HVAC mechanics needs. We can review framing before the sheetrock is installed to make sure that there are no surprises once the cabinetry arrives. We can meet to discuss ventilation-ducting requirements.